Ladies' Column.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4739, 2 September 1893, Page 3

Ladies' Column.

VALUABLE HINTS FOR HOUSEKEEPERS. {Chamber's Journal ) It may not be generally known that tough meat can be made tender by laying it a few minutes in vinegar. Remember not to salt fresh m?at when frying until it ia nearly cooked, a3 salting makea the juice of the meat run out, and the meat, is not ao tender. The general rule for roasting ia to allow fifteen minutes to a pound, provided the fire be good, and ten cr twenty minutes over, according as the family like it; well done cr noi. Perhaps few people think how much better a leg o£ mutton looks if boiled ia a coarse muslia dot a or white netting. Does. every housewife recollect how., to remove the strong flavour of poultry ? The, fowl should be washed in soda-water,. rinsed in cold water, and wiped dry. How many housekeepers are -'competent judges oJ-'fieoh eggs or fish! In judging the former, you should notice that a fresh eprcr has a lime-like surface ; stale eggß are glossy and smooth of shell. Firmness of the flesh and clearness of the eyes are tha great criteria of any fioh being fresh and good. Fresh fish also lie in a slightly enrved position, and never quits straight. Herrings and cod are known by the redness of their gills and clearness of the eye 3. It is worth recollecting that salt fish is beat aud quickest freshened by soaking in sour milk ; and that all fried fish should be dried in sheets of paper in front of tha fire. If oysters are fresh, the shells are firmly closed. Spaaking of shell-fish, it may here be mentioned that lh<= ConsultationComuiittee of Fisheries in Framed came to the conclusion that the poisonous action of mussels is due to the preserve of a particular microbe occurring only in muese]3 that have lived in stagnant waters. It ia more assuring to leara that such mussels ava deprived of then- poisonous property by the addition of sodium carbonate ts tbe wa'er in which they are boiled— a simple precaution which might well ha taken by every consumer of these fish. Some people are not always careful to drain the water from vegetables ns soon as they are cooked. Others do uofc know that potatoes should eevei- be pufc on a table in a covered dish; they will re-absorb their own moisture and bsccme soddeo. Before attempting t> chop parsley, veash is and squeeze it very dry in a clean cloth. It is also well to knew that if yoxirubthehacda on celery after using onions, tho smell will disappear. The medicinal properties of vegetables are not always appreciated. Celery is good for nervousness, rheumatism, and neuralgia. Lettuce is cooling and sleepproducing ; and asparagus purifies the blood. Tomatoes act on the liver, while beets and turnips are excellent appetisers. Potatoes should be avoided by those inclined to ba stout ; but peas, bread-beans, and haricots are positively strengthening. Onions, garlic, leekn, olives, and shalota all possess medicinal virtues of a marked character ; while onions eaten raw are recommended as a remedy for insomnia. Soup ma.de o? onions, being a tonic and nutritious, is regarded by the French a 8 an excellent restorative for debility of the digestive organs. Apples are also said to possess great medicinal value, especially for persons of sedentary habits. Applet) aud pears cut into quarters, stripped of the rind, baked with a little water and sugar, and eat >n with boiled rice, are capital food for children. Another hint worth acting is to scald rhubarb before cooking it. It then take 3 much less sugar, and yet loses none of its acid. Orange-peel dried and grated makea a fine yellow powder that is delicious for flavouring cakeo and puddings. It will also be found that apple and pear pip 3 when bruised impart an excellent flavour to inilkpuddings. Not a bad substitute for eg%a in cooking is corn-starch . In short, it may be remarked that one of the great weaknesses of cooks in this country seems to be their contempt for economising in any way. They appear to fail to realise thafc itia better to begin life on Indian-meal pudding and salt cod-fish, and rise to roast bs?f and mince-pie, than to begin on roast beef and mince-pie, and get, down to Indian-meal pudding end f alt cod-fish. It is advisable in cold, weather that we should eat heartily of substantial food and drink milk and cocoa. Before boiling milk, rinse the saucepan out with cold water, to pravent burning. To keep milk aweefc or to sweeten sour milk, put into it a pinch of carbonate oi scda. Useful, too, is the knowledge that a pinch of salt added to a glass of milk renders it digestible to most persone; but salt chould never be added to new milk when cooking, as it will cause it to curdle. Unfortunately, it inu3t be admitted that the spread of infectious diseases ! through the agency of milk constitutes on>3.o£ the dangers of the day. It has been noticed how the consumers of boiled milk, ,aB a rule, escape any ill effects. In abort, boiled milk may be said, for practical purposes, to secure immunity from infection by its means. The prudent housekeeper will therefore consume only boiled milk. Not everybody knows how to preserve drawn beer. Cover over the vessel containing it with a saucer or plate. Place a couple of raisins, a little sugar, or a few grains of rice into it. This generates, the desired effervescence. Vinegar or yeast should never be kept in stone jara; the acids contained 5n them at'.aok the glazing, and this is often poisonous. Great improvement will be found in tea and poffee if they are kept in glass fruitjars instead o£ tin boxes. The flavour of this favourite beverage is easily spoiled by the vicinity oE any articles of pronounced odour, such as cheese, bacon, &c. : How many people know how to make tea on Bcientific principles? Immediately that tha wcter . boils it should be poured on the tea. Experience tells us that six minutes is bast for the process of drawing, to bring out the proper quality, flavour, and strength. It is a mistake to neglect thoroughly heating tho teapot before, the tea is put in it. •••■■■■■• ■ ■ ■ ' If you rub the tea-kettle with kerosene and polish with, a soft dry piece of cloth, it will appear sb bright as new. Tea-stains may be removed by pouring boiling water through them. But never lot boiling -water touch japanned tea-trays, because it will cause the varnish to crack and peel off. Have a sponge, wet it with warm water and a little soap, rub with a cloth, and polißh with a dust of flour and a wash-leather. If there are any marks, rub them with sweet-oil till they disappear. Tea is recommended for washing grained wood. Stains on cups and saucers can bo removed by scouring with powder, bathbrick, and eoap. Save tome tea-leave 3 for a few days to use for varnished paintd; steep them in a tin pail for half an hour; strain through a, sieve, and use the tea for bleaning the paint, which will look almost new. It will not wash unvarnished paint. A little ammonia in the water reduces the labour of cleaning soiled paint, while wbito and pals Bhade3 of paint may be beautifully cleaned by using whiting in the water. If you wish to observe method in the house in winter, get your work forward by daylight, to prevent running about at night with candles. Thus you escape greaaespotj and risks of fire. By the way, candles should be bought in winter. They are better when made at this season, and if 6torad ia a cool dry place, will improve with age. When house-cleaning, it is wise to begin at the cellar, and to give more thought to the condition of things in that region than to the drapery of the parlour windows or the ruffled pillow-shams in. the 'spare room.' It may not be generally known that maßODs' dust from stone - sawing makes a perfect substance for scrubbing floors and plain deal tables, rendering them beautifully white. Tiled floors should be washed with lukewarm water and soap, dried with a soft cloth, and then ruobed over with a little linseed oil on an old silk handkerchief, and polished. Oil-cloth should never be washed with aoap suds, but washed first in cold water, thon rubbad dry wifch a wet cloth. In cleaning carpstu, go over them once a

week "with a broom dipped in hot water, to which a little turpentine h»;S been added. If aoot falla on the carpet, do not ' attempt to sweep it, or the result will be ton ineradicable smear. Dry some salt thoroughly in the oven, sprinkle it over the soot, then sweep, and no trace of the soot will remain. To clean paper hangings, first blow off the dußt with the bellows. Divide a loaf a waek old into eight parts. Take the crust in your hand, and, beginning at the top of the paper, wipe )t. downwards in the lightest manner possible with t,he crumb. Those disfiguring oily mark.-, where people have lVßted their he^da may be removed from the paper on walls by mixing pipeclay with water to the consistency of cream, laying it on the Bpot, and letting it remain till next day, when it may easily be removed with a brush. In choosing dusters for your house-cleaning, you will find cheeße-cloths are the besr,, especially after they have once been washed. A cloth wet in hot vinegar will remove paint from window glass ; and diluted spirits of salts will get rid of window-st>ins ; not muet it be forgotten ia cleaning that a rich gloss can ba put on glass by rubbing it quickly with spft old" newspapers or tissue-paper. Ifc = may here be remarked that the kitchen window is the best cf all windows for plants ; the steam from boilers and kettles keeps the air moist. FiDger-marks may be removed from varnished furniture by the use of a litt.le sweet oil upon a soft cloth. Kerosene will remove spot 3 from furniture ; and Btains on marble will disappear before the application of pasta made of chloride of lime and water, it' rubbed inta the parts stained aud left; to remain for six hours. It' should tbea be washed off with soap and water. Metal will nob prove so troublesome to keep in order if we only go the right way about cleaning it. For example, salt of lemon juice will remove iron rust. Fine emery paper and sweet oil are all that are necessary to keep steel bright ; while a cloth saturated in kerosene and dipped in whiting will be found he'.fc for cleaning. tinware. Strong ammonia should bs poured over old bras 3 to clean it, then thoroughly scrub with a scrubbing-brush, and presently the brass will shine like new metil. Stair rods should be cleaned with a soft woollen cloth dipped in water, and then in fiuely.eifted coal-aihes. Then rub them with a dry flancel until they Bhice and every particle, of ash has disappeared. -.■ To ab once hr at rooms and save coal, buy a firebrick about two inches thick. When the coala are aglow, lay tbi3 fla.t brick on the tap o£ the fire, wheit if; becomes red hot, and throws the heat out into the room in, a way that a 3re without this simply device will nob do. fcJhonld your house be affl'cted with chimneys that smoke, it should be borne in mind that the best preventive to t'ae nuisance is to open the windows of the room ten miautes before the fire is lit, and not simultaneouEly with, the lighting, as is generally done. Tbo-ft other nuiaances— vermin in a house — may be got rid o? in various ways. An india-rubbßr plant ia said to drive fiieß from an apartment. A few drops of essential oil of lavender on cotton-wool quickly rid 3 a bed of troublesome insects. Cayenne pepper sprinkled freo in the haunts of rats will make them leave the premieea. It is comforting to know that blanketß and iuts sprinkled with borax and done up air-tight, will keep free from mothe. When cleaning hair-brushes, use warm water and a little ammonia. When possible, dry in the hot sun. Take every opportunity of putting your sponges in s( a-water, for nothing cleanses them as this does. When on the oubject of sponges, wo are reminded that satin may be cleaned by sponging lengthways — never across the width — -with benzine, if greasy, or alcohol, or borex water. This will not be injured by direct contact with iron; press on the wrong side. Stains of every description may be removed from silk, linen, or woollen atuffs. Mix a wine-glassful of rectified apirit3 of turpentine with half a teaspoonful cf essential oil of lemoos, and preserve the mixture in & weli-otoppsd bot'oie. -Apply a little on the stain with a bit of silk. The colours of the fabric will sustain no injury from the application. Don't despair of being able to restore scorched linen, but peel and slice two onions, and extract the juice by squeezing or pounding. Cut up half an ounce of white soap, and add two ounces of f uller'eeartb; mix with them the onion juic^ and half a pint of vinegar. Boil the composition well, and spread it when cool over the scorched part of the linen, leaving it to dry thereon. Afterwardß wash out the linen. Kid shoes may be kept soft by rubbing them over once a week with pure glycerine and castor oil ; aud the leather a£ shoes and boots can be softened if washed monthly in soft warm water and then oiled thoroughly. They niiy be rendered permanently waterproof by soaking them for several hours in thick soap-water. If you wish to have dry boots, observe the American plan of filling them, when taken off at night-time, with hot oats, the best grain for the purpose. They do not injure the leather, and preserve the shape of the boot 3. The neglect of many of these seemingly little things such a3 are here hinted at, but which are so important to the well-being of a household, frequently may arise less from disinclination to take trouble than from ignorance or forgetfulaesß of the remedies to be employed.